What has Your eHow Experience Been Like?

Have you had an article deleted in eHow's infamous "article sweeps"? Has your user experience been less than what you had hoped for it to be? Do you make hundreds of dollars a month, on eHow, and swear by it's website platform so much that you would easily recommend it to your friends repeatedly?

(Before proceeding, it would be an honor to have you share your eHow experience in my Comment section, Below!)

Whether your experience, with eHow, has been positive or negative, there is no doubt that discussions about many recent occurrences on the eHow platform are sure to elicit significant controversy, as freelance writers from both sides of the aisle converge to 'duke' it out over the vast expanse of internet. While never actually seeing each other, outside of an occasional avatar, they have formed strong opinions about eHow, of course, based on their own personal experiences.

My continual research reveals many things about the eHow platform. One thing is for sure, opinion is seemingly just about as varied as night and day, with even the most long term eHow writers mildly disgruntled by several aspects of their noticeable business practices. For those who have succumbed to the same reports of faulty customer service, mass article deletions, and user glitches, the choice to leave eHow has been easy, although, for others, it has been a clear struggle.

With so much time, and "self" invested, like a failing marriage, it is sometimes difficult for some to just let go.

For those who may be unfamiliar, the eHow website platform is essentially one of the most popular, fore-running, websites that is tailored to addressing the "How-to" needs of thousands of people, daily, across the globe. It is a noticeable pioneer in the ever-expanding realm of article submission, revenue sharing, website platforms. With very passionate freelance writers involved, testimonials scoured over the internet detail a writing platform that can be, quite frankly, very lucrative, to those who have mastered the art of article writing for the internet.

For those who have discovered that delicate intersection between search engine optimization, skillful writing, and keyword research, it is not uncommon for them to make upwards of several $100 dollars a month in passive, residual, income. With the United States' economy the way it currently is, it is easy to see how one could be drawn to such an enticing, and lucrative, website platform.

Unfortunately, something has gone incredibly wrong with the eHow platform, as of late.

To the casual observer it may be difficult to delineate what problems exist, and to what extent they exist. After all, no company is perfect, nor is it expected to be. It is when the resounding sounds of user disgruntlement reach unbearable proportions that one cannot help but take notice. With its very own forum completely saturated with user complaints and palpable frustration, it is absolutely heartbreaking to see even the most long term eHow user seeking refuge in a violent storm unclear of expectations, and nearly inexistent user feedback.

I have never, personally, had an eHow article deleted in eHow's massive, site-wide, article sweeps.

Unfortunately, it is absolutely painful to read reports of freelance writers, just struggle to simply get by, who have had upwards of 20+ of their hard written articles deleted, with very little reason or feedback. Afforded with absolutely no opportunity to correct their writing, prior to deletion, they have watched some of their most prized, and highest earning, eHow articles simply cease to exist. Arguments for both sides have clearly ensued, under the guise of necessary quality control.

There may be something inherently "wrong" with their way of conducting business, from the start, that they could master if they were to only head massive onslaughts of advice, and behave in a manner similar to such platforms of Info Barrel. While I write this article on the Info Barrel website platform, it is clear that I have a mild bias in favor of them, however, many former longterm eHow freelance writing stragglers have found recent refuge at Info Barrel.

Not only is their website governed by incredible customer service, but, Info Barrel is also completely transparent about the Google Adsense revenue share that they give to their faithful writers. In order to avoid massive "article sweeps" years down the road, and subsequently upset even their most loyal contributors, Info Barrel has instituted a policy that requires every writer's first ten articles to be manually approved. Had eHow done this from the beginning, rather then vigorously advertise and uncontrollably expand it's user base beyond what it was clearly able to manage, they wouldn't have to worry about hurting those who have invested their lives, time, and effort, into a deep-rooted loyalty that has clearly gone unacknowledged.

Their behavior is a slap in the face to both long term, and short term, users alike.

Under this massive "veil of secrecy" concerning user expectations, guidelines, and earnings, what has transpired is what I have elaborately deemed a "massive exodus" from the eHow platform, in search of greater potential and recognition. While some may be hesitant to completely remove all their articles from eHow, the relationship is certainly becoming bleak when long term users consistently feel like they are being ignored. With over 150 articles uploaded to eHow, after my fifth email went unanswered, I felt both saddened, and unwilling to entrust my hard, passionate, work, into the hands of a company that would never exchange communication with me on the most fundamental level. Coupled with massive, site-wide, user glitches, I couldn't make sense of how a company became so popular, while becoming simultaneously disattached completely from its users: the very life-blood of it's website and community.

Like many, under such little transparency, I gravitated towards Info Barrel, and fell in love. Not only are my emails answered immediately, but, for once, I can say that I fully understand the expectations and guidelines that they have for their users. It has become a beautiful reciprocal relationship, but, more importantly, it is a precursor for the longterm, sustainable, business model that, I predict, could even surpass the behemoth influence of eHow.

With that said, how has YOUR eHow experience been? Whether positive, or negative, I encourage you to leave a comment immediately following this article! Rather detailed comments on other articles, of mine, only seem to validate the importance of this article, with each one seemingly resonating deep to the core of those who have been hurt, with little to no feedback produced or available.

Even if you just completely ignore my articles, you may want to pay particular attention to the comments, of former eHow freelance writers, HERE:

If you are not currently a member of Info Barrel, you can join here, or it would be an absolute honor to have you join under my Referral link here.

*Fellow Info Barrel writer, jcmayer777 and I, created this 6-book course over 5 months!...We launched it on WarriorForum at a VERY highly discounted rate...This price will not last much longer. You can see it here:

(This banner currently links to the highly discounted WarriorForum thread!)

Comments

I write at eHow as well and have had a few deleted. It's pretty frustrating, but for me eHow still pays the best - which I'm sure is the lure for many many of the writers who have stuck around. The fact that they are weeding out poorly written articles is fine, but I take issue with them giving a false sense of security to writers thinking that because their article wasn't deleted in this round of sweeps it's safe. That has certainly not proven to be the case!

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It is possible that, had they executed their business plan similar to that of Info Barrel, that it wouldn't even be necessary to do these massive article sweeps.....Unfortunately, it certainly appears like, under an intense drive to gain as many members and articles as possible, that they have pushed their platform beyond their own ability to manage and sustain it....

Reply to this Comment

I have had only two articles deleted in "sweeps," and I really had no problem with their reasons. Both were written when I was new to eHow and I had copied the format (not the content!) of existing articles.
I have lately seen a notable drop in earnings. Normally my 80 articles earn almost 1 cent per day each, on average. However, I had one day with absolutely ZERO earnings, which had not happened since January, and another day with only five cents in earnings, which had also not happened since January. Recently there have been no earnings updates on Saturdays, and some of the multiple update days are suspiciously low.

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My eHow experience was both positive and negative, Howie. I made many hundreds of dollars there in the year that I wrote for them, but most of it came from winning contests. My earnings there are terrible, but I am still earning a minimum payout monthly, so what's a girl to do?
I have been subject to random articles being removed as well as OUTRIGHT plagiarism by their "editors", as I told you in another comment. I am not writing for them anymore, but still am working on moving my articles here.
Thanks for all of your help here, you are a great friend to have!